Ants in My Pants 11/12/2012

Sunrise on the Serengeti

Sunday we awoke to find thousands of ants in our toilet area - not just any ants, fire ants.  We shook out our clothing and dressed quickly, getting out of the tent as fast as we could before they spread to the bedroom section of the tent.  I felt prickles on my legs and quickly pulled off my pants and shook them off outside the tent.  So much for modesty.  I went through the same antics once more before ridding myself of the pests.  Fortunately, the camp staff took care of the problem while we were at breakfast.  I don't know what they did (and probably don't want to know what kind of poison it was) but there was no sign of our 6 legged friends when we returned to our tent.

Hadrian's Wall of Wildebeests

One That Didn't Make It

We're totally amazed each day on our game drives as we encounter the continuous migration of the wildebeest and zebra.  We see thousands of them each day in herds that look like Hadrian's Wall, going on for miles from north to south.  We're reminded of the buffalo in the American west and hope these magnificent beasts do not suffer the same fate.  The books say there are about 2 million wildebeest in the migration.  Sometimes we think we've seen them all.

Our days are filled with animal sightings and our nights with their sounds.  We occasionally awaken from a sound sleep to the sounds of lions, zebra, Cape Buffalo and other animals near our tents.  We're told we're perfectly safe inside our tents, so in an act of faith we enjoy the sounds, then roll back over for a couple more hours of slumber.


Ngorngoro Crater 11/13/2012

All These Land Rovers - Must be a Leopard!

We bid a sad farewell to the Serengeti this morning and began our return trip via the Ngorngoro Crater.  The crater is really a collapses volcanic caldera approximately 11 x 13 miles in diameter.  Most of the animals here are resident v. migratory as they are in the Serengeti.  We enjoyed many animal sightings, including the elusive black rhino, but missed the massive numbers we'd seen  in the Serengeti.

No, It's a Lion

We arrived at the Tloma Lodge in Karatu in the late afternoon, dusty and road weary.  We all showered (soaping 2-3 times to get the dust off), then sent our clothes to the laundry.  Next a dip in the pool, a gin and tonic, a wonderful dinner and a good night's sleep.  AHHH...  

Rand and I sat up a long time and talked of the wonderful time we'd had on safari - the animals, the cultural understanding, the camaraderie with friends.  We both regret the trip is coming to an end.  I realized I'd rather be in the Serengeti than Paris. My sister reminds me of my earlier proclamation that this is the last time I'll come to Africa.  I smile and I tell her, "I say a lot of things, don't pay too much attention to some of them - I've changed my mind."   I know I'll return.